Watching Wildlife - September

It is now the time of year when the gorgeous flowers on the trees and bushes are starting to disappear leaving fleshy fruits, nuts and berries behind them. The transition from summer to autumn provides the animal kingdom with the widest variety of food available, but these opportunistic creatures cannot simply indulge themselves as this time is crucial for many animals to build up a store of food that should get them through the coming winter.

This saving for later strategy helps animals that unlike Hedgehogs, do not hibernate through the bitter months ahead and means that when every leaf, nut and berry has vanished from the surrounding vegetation, creatures can still have access to nutrition. Usually stashing their finds in a tree hole or an abandoned birds' nest numerous species are currently out and about and stocking their larders, so keep your eyes open for them (along with other animals who are also preparing for winter).